The Rundown

It's been a while since I've updated this blog. It's been pretty boring on the Toronto sports scene the past year, and miserable enough to make even that dude from Dawson's Creek cry. That is unless you're my buddy Maxamillian Droege (you can catch Max after every Leaf game dissecting the Leafs with Andy Frost on AM 640, if he isn't dropping F-bombs), who can somehow find pleasure in a Leaf team in 2nd last place. I admire his commitment though, and I can wholeheartedly say that is one of the truest Leaf fans I know. Now somebody wash the blue paint out of his eyes from last night's Leaf game so he can read this. The Blue Jays, god bless their souls, have now re-entered the rebuilding stage, and are entering the season with the idea of Jose Bautista leading off for them. The Raptors are on the verge of losing another big star, as Chris Bosh is counting the days before he bolts back to the States. Well at least we'll have Jay Triano around to fluff the next big star that arrives. The Argos are...who gives a shit about the Argos? All the while our beloved soccer team TFC is still trying to figure out this playoff thing. If that ever happens, somebody be sure to never let me know, because I would be more interested in watching the 5 million dollar grass grow at BMO field than watching a soccer game that isn't the World Cup.

With all of this turmoil comes topics and things to get off my chest.

So basically, I'd like to rundown a little catch up session to get this blog back up and running. A little smorgasbord of sports (say that 10 times real fast). Where better to start than with Toronto's beloved Maple Leafs.

- Isn't it funny how Leaf fans have stressed all year about the thought of the Leafs finishing last, which would equal the Boston Bruins getting their hands on 1st overall draft pick Taylor Hall. Fast forward to present day, and the Leafs have built a comfortable lead on the Edmonton Oilers, leaving us in second last, which should only land the Bruins a 2nd overall draft pick, which will end up being...Taylor Hall! That's right, there is no way Tyler Seguin doesn't go 1st overall in this year's entry draft. He has definitely emerged as the better player, and now with recent admission that Taylor Hall isn't a great 2 way player, you can bet on the Oilers taking Seguin.



- I'd also like to take one last shot at Brian Burke before I start drinking his Kool-Aid and predicting a Tyler Bozak scoring title and a Stanley Cup within the next 3 years. A lot of people have criticized his trade of two 1st round picks and a 2nd rounder for Phil Kessel. I can't complain about the trade, seeing as how Phil Kessel is the most skilled player the Leafs have had since...shit, he's the most skilled player the Leafs have ever had, and yes that includes Mats Sundin, Doug Gilmour, Dave Keon, Tim Horton, sorry Wendel Clark faithful, and even Jeff Farkas, and Brandon Convery. And that is not exactly a huge compliment to Kessel. What I can complain about, is Brian Burke's mentality that the team we had was a top 15 or 20 team in the NHL when he completed that deal. Burkey is a smart man, and as much as he tries to convince you, there is no way he makes that deal if he knows his team is finishing in the bottom 3 of the league. If Kessel was worth a Hall or a Seguin, the Bruins would have never let him go, and Burke knows that. My criticism is directed towards Burke's mentality during the trade. The fact that he thought Komisarek, Beauchemin, Wallin, Finger, Grabovski etc... were a good enough team to land us in the playoffs is way out of his character. For example, if the Red Wings, Flames, Capitals, Pens, Habs, Sharks, Blackhawks make that trade, it's a great trade. Because basically, you're giving up a 23rd and 27th overall pick for Phil Kessel. But when you're a potential lottery based team and you make that trade...ouch. So my problem isn't the trade itself, it's Burke's idea that we would make the playoffs and not be giving up a lottery pick.

- Now, as I sip some of this delicious red Kool-Aid, I would like to change my tune and actually compliment Burke for some of the moves he's made recently. Let's start with the Dion Phaneuf trade. As that obnoxious girl from the TV show Friends who always dates Chandler would say, Oh...My...God! Did that just happen? Did we just trade a decent centre, an OK 30-something year old winger, Ian White (no knock there, he was awesome), and a 5 minute per night player; for Dion Phaneuf da-daaaaaa-da-da-da? No way. This is the type of trade where you can only get away with in video games. Like when you start a season in NHL 2010, and think how do I get a 90 rated player? Well let's see if this works? I'll add in this guy who's rated 81, this guy who's rated 79, wow they rated this guy 82, we'll add him. Sent the trade...rejected! Shit! back to the drawing board, I'll put those same 3 players in, only this time I'll add in this amazingly rated 77 player and VOILA! I have Dion Phaneuf da-da-da-daa on the Toronto Maple Leafs in my NHL 2010 season. Not to mention, we also got a PK specialist, yeah I know big deal, but we also got a 6 foot 6 defensive prospect who is only 20 years old and won a Gold Medal with Canada's junior team. If Darryl Sutter isn't fired within the next 2 years because of this trade, than I will apply for a GM job in the NHL.



- As for the Giguere trade. All I had to see on the ticker was Leafs trade Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake for...and it was already a great trade. I would have traded those two for Fulton Reed and Adam Banks from the REAL Mighty Ducks. What I really like about this trade is how Jonas Gustavsson has played since Giggy arrived. In the 6 games he has played since he's 5-1 with a 2.40 GAA, and a .910 Save %. Maybe it's the competition of a goalie breathing down his neck for playing time, or just some helpful advice from his new locker neighbour, whatever it is it has definitely turned around The Monster's play.

- Now that's enough of the Leafs for now. On to my 2nd favorite mediocre team in Toronto, the Blue Jays. Thank you for finally freeing the team of J.P. Retardo. I would like to apologize to anybody that I may or may not have offended with that comment. I had no intentions of indirectly implying that J.P. Ricciardi could be as smart as a reh-tard.

- A special shout out to the Jays for keeping my man Randy Ruiz in the line up. He will do big things this year. This guy can hit the ball, trust me on this one. Biggest surprises this year will be Ruiz, Travis Snider, and Vernon Wells. Yes, I did just say everybody's favorite Blue Jay Vernon Wells, and the only reason why I name him is because with they way he played last season, there is no place to go but up!

- Can Brian Colangelo please forget about his Italian patriotism for 2 seconds and fire Jay Triano so the Raptors can play for a real coach? Seriously, the Raptors can lose by 30 points, and Triano will greet them in the locker room with a box of baked homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. One time a man kicked Jay Triano in the ass, and all Triano did was turn around and ask if the man's foot was ok. Sure, I hate to rag on a guy for being a great guy, but this is sports, and sports are unforgiving. I don't want Johnny Nice Guy coaching a Toronto team. I want a Bobby Knight type of asshole who storms in the locker room after a loss throwing chairs, beating up old ladies, and stealing from children. And while we're at it, can we please get rid of Mr. overrated, Jose Calderon? The only reason why he is loved in Toronto is because this is a hockey city, and he somehow translates into a tough basketball player. Maybe it's because he has longish hair and when he sweats, his hair gets drenched like a hockey player, making him look like somewhat of a Darcy Tucker like warrior. That's my only guess. Jarret jack has been a breath of fresh air at the point guard position this year.

- As for the Toronto Argos and TFC, all I have to say about those two Toronto teams are...

And thank you that is all the time we have left for today! Thank you for reading this installment of my blog. I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave some feedback of what you thought. Also good luck to Georges St. Pierre this weekend as he prepares to defend his welterweight title against England's Dan Hardy!

With Brian Burke comes Pat Quinn all over again for Toronto Maple Leaf fans

Brian Burke is on the horizon, and the Leafs chances of winning a Stanley Cup have just been pushed even further back. Brian Burke is an overrated GM. He failed in Vancouver for 5 years, and aside from winning one cup with Anaheim, has done a pretty terrible job managing the cap since. Seriously, Bobby Ryan in the minors? I don't want a guy that won't hesitate to send down a blue chip prospect (drafted 2nd behind Crosby) to the minors, just to stay under the cap. Detroit wins the Cup, and still manages to sign Marian Hossa the next year. That is successful management. Brian Burke has been blown out of proportion by the always faithful Leaf fans. Since his name has been tossed around in rumors for the new Leaf GM job, radio call in junkies have mentioned him with some of the best GM's in the world, past and present.

If you sit down and actually break down his career, he has been somewhat of a Pat Quinn. Employing wash outs like Jyrki Lumme, Robert Reichel, Aki Berg etc... (who would not crack another NHL line up) while giving the boot to players like Andy McDonald, Steve Sullivan, and Jason Smith. That just doesn't make sense to your average Leaf fan. But it made sense to Pat Quinn, and it makes sense to Brian Burke. It just shows that their eye for talent is out of touch with reality. How could a die-hard Leaf fan, who only watches games from his couch at home know that Jyrki Lumme and Robert Reichel were unemployable outside of Toronto? How could a hardcore hockey fan know that Anaheim dishing off Andy McDonald instead of 2 million dollar players like Todd Marchant and Rob Niedermayer would be a bad idea? How do we see it, and they don't? It's called bad sports management, and it has plagued both gentlemen their entire respective careers. They haven't been terrible, they just haven't been great.

The latest Brian Burke blunder has him sending down NHL ready prospect Bobby Ryan, the player whom he chose 2nd overall behind Sydney Crosby in the 2005 NHL entry draft. That was over 3 years ago. Now if Bobby Ryan and his outstanding AHL stats aren't good enough for the NHL after all these years, than that is a horrible draft pick by Burke and the Ducks. However, that is not the case, Bobby Ryan some say was NHL ready last year, a season in which he was called up and sent down, and produced 10 points in 23 games, while putting up 49 points in 48 games in the AHL. He endured the rigors of going back and forth from Iowa to Anaheim for 1 season in hopes that he would have a regular spot saved for him the next year. Wrong, his spot was either given to Ryan Carter, or Brian Burkes forever loyalty to aging hasbeens such as Rob Niedermayer, Sami Pahlsson, Todd Marchant, or even better yet Brad May left Bobby Ryan no room. The issue here is Ryan's contract. With bonuses that Burke is convinced he'll achieve, he would be set to make $300,000 more than his original contract of just over a million dollars. So because of $300,000 a contract Burke negotiated, the best young prospect in Anaheim gets another year in the minors, where he currently has 16 points in 13 games. So what would be the point of bringing in Brian Burke only to have him draft us a player in the top 10 this year, and railroad him to the minors for the next 3 seasons due to poor money management, and throwing away money to guys like Brad May?

Brace ourselves Leaf fans, for we have to endure another 4/5 years of smokes and mirrors. MLSE one of the greatest illusionists out there have conducted another masterful plan. Or we can look at the upside and hope for another 4 years of Pat Quinn.